Malaysia Airlines has replaced one of its four check-in aisles at Kuala Lumpur International Airport with a 'check-in lounge' for first, business and platinum Enrich frequent flyer passengers.

The new check-in area will have a meet-and-greet service where staff will be briefed and waiting for elite passengers to arrive at the airport terminal, who will then assist the passengers to complete check-in "with ease and comfort".

The lounge swaps the traditional roped queues with sofas, while staff check passengers in using laptops instead of desktop PCs behind a counter.

The airline also officially announced its 'Chef-on-call First' service, which was quietly introduced onto planes earlier in the year.

First class passengers on MAS flights between KL and Sydney (or Amsterdam/London) can now pre-order their choice of main course from a wide range of menu selections.

The airline is rotating five of the dishes in the menu every two months, to ensure the menu doesn't become monotonous.

First and business class passengers will also get new noise cancelling headphones on MAS flights on Boeing 747 and 777 flights to European destinations.

The headsets have a full-size ear cup that has a Bose-style black leatherette ear-pad and fold flat for compact storage.

Malaysia Airlines Chairman Tan Sri Munir said the airline had been working on transforming itself since 2006 to become the best airline in Asia, "not only for the front-end (business/first/platinum) customers, but also those travelling economy class."